Wednesday, March 30, 2011

What could be more fitting than the men of the household hogging the TV? Clint and Cole hogged the remote and watched a marathon of "men shows." Larry the Cable Guy- Only in America, Pawn Stars, and recorded episodes of Mythbusters.

My Men...Daddy, hand Meee the remote!!

Hey, Where's Mommy?!?

Tummy time doesn't seem to bother Cole when Larry is on!

As long as I get to watch at least a partial episode of "everybody Loves Raymond" while I fold laundry or use the eliptical, I'm a happy Mommy!

Monday, March 28, 2011

A few of these I have posted previously on my facebook page, but some of these I began brainstorming on my way down the driveway this morning. Spring is such a big source of excitement for me this year. Normally, I don't mind the change is weather, but last spring/summer I wasn't able to get out and play in the sunshine while I was preggo like I had every year previous. (Not that I'm complaining!) So, this year the warm weather has me especially excited. That, and of course, the chance to get Cole out in the sunshine as well! Lets begin, shall we... 1. The Army of Frogs in our Backyard Pond (the pond is a recurring theme in this list, you'll see.) Every spring, at the first hint of warm weather, frogs attack our little pond in the backyard with a vengence. Its as if a bulletin was put out for all single -and most importantly vocal- frogs to gather in our little wet meeting ground. The doors on our house can't block out the roar of croaking bullfrogs! I've been a frog lover forever, but my husband isn't a fan at all. Though Clint may not hand out by the pond unless its with a very long frog gig or a gun, I on the otherhand think its great, the first sign of Spring! 2. Buttercups When I was a little girl, growing up in Cadiz, KY, one of my favorite things to do was pick flowers for my Mom. Isn't that what all little girls are supposed to adore?!? The long wooden fence that separated our strawberry field from the front yard was lined with a bed of buttercup and iris bulbs. Every Spring, I attacked that bed with both hands grabbing at the sweet yellow blooms. I remember my mother teaching me to break the stems at the base and not so close to the blossom. Lots of Easter pictures were taken along that row of sunshine. Every year, I think about our house in Cadiz, and it makes me smile to think, Spring is back yet again! 3. Bunnies Yes, my nickname growing up was Brenna Boo Bunny. If you've known me any length of time, I'm sure this little tidbit of info has surfaced. My mother decorated my nursery in Peter Rabbit, and I've always held the furry little critters close to my heart. So naturally, It always makes my heart jump a beat when I see one hopping around the yard. We're lucky enough to have several good hiding spots at our home for the little guys. A few favorites, are the stone gate at the entry to our driveway, the water pump landscaped bed by our garage, and the garden (of course). The Easter bunny may be a symbol of Easter, but he shows up at our house much sooner! 4. Mallard Ducks We keep a watch out for short green necks every spring. You can't miss them, they stick out against the usually light brown pond (from all the spring rain). Mallard ducks, two sets of them, so far every year since we dug our pond, have nested in the woods next to our pond. I feel very lucky that they chose our home to rest at while they raise their youngens. I like to think its the same males and females, and they have decided to mate for life. Maybe our pond is like their vacation spot. Wouldn't that be funny? My grandfather, Guy Tucker Henderson, would have loved that we have a pond. I have so many memories of him dressed in his camo, floating in a little boat out on Open Lake in Tennessee. I know he's smiling down on Cole while he laughs at the green necks out on our pond. 5. Blooming Trees Clint, my hubby, loves to plant trees. He's even mentioned we should look into insuring them in case something unforseeable were to happen to them. Though he's not a tree hugger, I could see him being one in another life. Thanks to Clint and his affinity for trees, we have lots of spring bloomers. Dogwoods in the forest by the house, Cherry blossoms by the gate, Rebuds behind the house, and Bradford Pears sprinkled here and there. If there is anything more beautiful than the blossoms on the "early springers" its the green leaves that follow them after they fall of the trees. 6. Fishing Jerry, my father in law, has really enjoyed fishing on the pond. While some people may enjoy fishing in the cold, we wait until it warms up, at least a little anyway! While we never properly stocked our pond, we did transport a few large mouth bass and crappie from Clint grandfather's pond in Russellville to ours. Amazingly enough, they survived the trip in a rubbermaid tub, and are thriving. We've caught several good sized bass over the past few years. Cole got to enjoy his first fish, caught by his Pops, a few Sundays ago. A true sign of Spring! 7. Flip-flops and Sundresses On the first 70 degree day, my mind automatically swtiches to flip-flop and sundress mode. Some girls may like their shorts and tank tops, but I a flowy sundress kinda girl! In fact, the first chance we got this March, I was up in the attic digging through my summer clothes for something to wear. Granted, I had to wear a sweater over my shoulders but the fact remains, it was a sundress! 8. Grilling Out At the first sign of warmer weather our minds focus on outdoor dining. One person manning the grill, one in the kitchen, and a runner in between. We all know our positions and we assume them when the sunshine pops out. Last weekend, we took advantage of the unseasonable warm weekend and broke out the grill and hamburgers. Yummo! Hamburgers, pasta salad, chips and salsa (from the garden of course). 9. Striping Our front yard is more like a hay field, rahter it would be if Clint and his Dad didn't keep it mowed every spring/ summer. When the spring rains come, so does the green grass! That of course prompts the Wiles men to fire up the outdoor power equipment; the John Deere tractor, finishing mower and the Gravely mower. Something about the striping in the yard makes me want to pack a picnic lunch and eat under the big maple trees in the front yard. At least its time to start thinking about running barefoot in the front yard catching fireflies. It won't be long now! 10. Big Fat Robins Along side our driveway, Clint planted lots of beautiful maples trees. They were good sized when he planted them a few autumns ago, but the bracnhes are still a bit flimsy. Far too flimsy for all the big fat robins that like to perch there. If only I could have snatch a photo of the fat little guy that was hanging sideways on a limb this morning. The spring has definately been kind to our feathered friends. "They" say a robin is the first sign of spring. I suppose I agree, its at least one at our house. HAPPY SPRING YALL!

Friday, March 25, 2011

Cole is such a great model, I thought I would take the opportunity to make clothes for him (before he's too cool to wear them when he's a big boy.) A big thanks to Debi for teaching me to use a pattern. I feel like I should have picked up that skill in Home Economics, but I was a band geek. :)

Here are a few pictures of the sun romper I sewed for my little man. It will be perfect for our summer in the sun! Can't wait to get that angel outside in the shade while I work in my garden.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Cole is growing so fast, and so is his appetite. When we last visited Dr. Kriess, she told us we could begin solids at 16 weeks or 4 months (only a week apart) if we felt Cole was showing signs he was ready.

We felt there were a few reasons he was ready to begin trying the next step into his food adventures. First, he is able to sit up supported by his Bumbo seat. He has been able to do this for some time now, but he is really doing very well with it now! Cole is also not sleeping quite as well through the night; he wakes up more often and is very hungry! We have noticed him chewing and moving his tongue aroud in his mouth, and finally he is constantly putting his hands and toys in his mouth.

Here is a video clip of some of Cole's first bites of cereal. We used brown rice cereal mixed with milk. I think he liked it!

Here are a few snap shots of our hungry little man!

Cole did so well with his first "meal" of solid foods. Next, we plan to try bananas, avacados, and apples, after we gives each a few days to be sure he isn't allergic! We are preparing Cole's food at home, for now, and it is super easy! After lots of research and advice we decided to purchase a Baby Brezza steamer/ baby food prep. system. We love it!!

Monday, March 7, 2011

I'm always looking for a new "project," and my severe case of spring fever helped me to find this one. I don't know about everyone else, but we have had enough of being cooped up this winter. We're ready for Spring, Easter, and sunshine! What better craft project than an Easter Basket?

As with all my crafts, I can't take credit for the initial idea. Cole's first Easter is fast approaching and I began hunting for a Easter Basket a few weekends ago. It just so happened that Pottery Barn Kids had sent us a catalog with the new Spring line. It was full of so many cute ideas for boys and girls. While I can appreciate the quality coming from PBK, I would much rather find a way to make it myself when it comes to an item like the basket shown below. Especially when the basket and liner alone cost $50, and that doesn't include monogramming or shipping!

After a bit of thought into how to go about it, I made a trip to Hobby Lobby for some fabric, ribbon, and a basket. Now, let me preface by saying I have absolutely no training with a sewing machine. I just spend hours going over how to make something before beginning.

For this project, I bought one yard of cheerful fabric, two rolls of fabric ribbon (1 inch and 1/2 inch wide), and a basket. Total cost $15.68 plus tax. If you want info on how I made it, I will be glad to try and explain, but like I said, I have no idea what I am doing, and there is probably a much easier way to make a basket liner. I just "winged it!"

After making the liner, I cut left over scrap material into strips, and fabric ribbon into pieces with pinking shears. The pieces were tied around the handle to add color! The finished product turned out just like I was hoping!

Just remember, you can do anything you put your mind to! My Mom told me, and I never forgot it!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Some don't like their birthdays after 25, but I say bring it on. Each year gets more interesting and I grow more excited. Each day is such a gift!

There were so many things that made my birthday special last year. On this day a year ago, my husband surprised me with lilies in a vase and a card on my desk when I got to work. Later that morning, I received a delivery with a beautiful flower arrangement from my friends Sharon Grooms and Courtney Meador. For lunch, I got my favorite; a sunshine chicken salad from Rafferty's and a special cake compliments of Clint and Debi.

We had plans that evening to go out to eat in Nashville with some friends. Before leaving for Nashville, we planned to meet at Daniel and Courtney Meador's house with everyone before driving to Flemmings. To my surprise, all of our friends were at the Meadors' house waiting to surprise me with a birthday party! Courtney had sent out invitations and ordered me a special cake. Here is a picture of me blowing out the candles!

Courtney and a few of the other girls there began having a conversation about children and how I felt I was ready to begin our family. Life had been so busy I didn't realize that it had already happened! Courtney suggested I go get a pregnancy test. The next day, Saturday March 6th, I bought a pregnancy test at CVS. (I still have the test, and the receipt.) It was positive.

Completely shocked, I took another test. Positive again! I drove to see Clint at work, and surprised him. We took a third test. And you guessed it...positive again!

A little later I made an appointment with Dr. Hewitt who confirmed what we already knew. A little bundle of joy was on their way.

The past year has been the most amazing year of my life. I can't imagine how any one person could feel any more loved than I have felt over the past 12 months. I have so very much to be thankful for; amazing family, friends, and the most wonderful gift of any, my sweet baby boy Cole Daniel. How did we ever live without him. I can't even imagine.

I am looking forward to the next year, sure that it will be full of crazy, exciting, stressful, memorable, blessed moments! And that, my friends, is why I never shy away from celebrating a birthday. The journey this life is taking me on, is fantastic, and I am so excited to find out what the next year has in store!

Hope you had a SUPER Valentines Day!

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About Me

This Blog is named Brenna's Boys, and for good reason. My boys, Clint, Cole, and Luke are my world, and have helped me to understand so much about myself. I am so proud to be a Wife and a Mother. It is truly the biggest blessing and greatest honor to be a part of these mens' lives.
But at the same time, I am my own person (for a few seconds when I close my eyes at night) and from time to time I get to fall back on the things that I have enjoyed for years; cooking, crafting, and exploring the great outdoors.
This blog, hopefully will be a way for me to remember all those awesome moments that have filled each day, week, and years of our lives.
We are the Wiles; Clint, Brenna, Cole, and Luke. Welcome to a peak into our lives.